Healthy Snacking

Chocolate Chip Snack Cookies

Chocolate Chip Snack Cookies packed with protein thanks to chickpeas and Organic SunButter. Don’t forget lots of dark chocolate chips!

This summer I temporarily became a solo dog mom with M gone for a week at a work conference.

I was *very* apprehensive how Flora would behave with “Dad” being MIA.

You might remember that it was me that initially begged M to get a dog, but now that we have one, she’s very much attached to him.

That’s always the way it happens, right?!

She’s attached to me too, of course, but it’s different because I’m the human that’s always around as opposed to the other human who leaves for work and returns.

While she did look for him every day (sniffing the door, poking her head in his favorite house haunts, watching out the window), we settled into a routine just us girls.

Honestly, it’s been a big confidence boost to know that I can keep her alive on my lonesome.

I don’t know about you, friends, but some days I feel like I struggle to keep myself alive and well, let alone another furry friend.

So we kept it *very* simple and doubled down on routines this week here at F&V.

Luckily, Flora seems to take after her momma in her love of routines, too.

We did the walks, play time, meal time, and all of the cuddle sessions my little velociraptor would allow before she gets mouthy.

(I’m determined to make the working breed also a lap dog, too!)

One thing I did to support my week ahead was do a massive meal prep on Sunday so I felt comforted with good food even while missing my man.

So, getting to today’s recipe, one of those things that I made was…Chocolate Chip Snack Cookies!

Don’t worry, you don’t need your partner to be out of town to enjoy them, but that might help ensure they’re all yours!

These Chocolate Chip Snack Cookies are packed with protein thanks to chickpeas and SunButter.

Don’t forget lots of dark chocolate chips; because, like I tell my yoga students before savasana;

You deserve it.

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Blueberry SunButter Breakfast Cookies

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Blueberry SunButter Breakfast Cookies made with oatmeal, SunButter, and blueberries. Bake them in advance and grab for an easy breakfast!

Last week I was lucky to see the Glass Animals perform live in Richmond, VA.

It’s the longest distance I’ve ever travelled for live music!

The energy was palpable and we spent the entire show standing, dancing and singing to the beats that I knew, craved, and loved.

Attending the show meant *so* much to me, and even more so because I missed seeing them last year when they were in Maryland.

Last year, I forfeited the tickets last minute because we had just brought home Flora, who was cute enough to make me forget even my most admired artists.

I joke that the Glass Animals helped me survive 2020, but truly, their album “Dreamland” felt like a lifeboat amidst divorce, pandemic, and solo living.

It also helps that the singles played on the radio became the unofficial soundtrack to my budding relationship with M.

“Heat Waves” and “Your Love” were always on when I made the drive to Maryland to pick up M for a day date.

So I feel very satisfied and fulfilled that I was able to see them live after all these years.

Naturally, we packed up the pup and took her with us, and although she couldn’t actually attend the show, she waited up for us at the Air B&B like an angel.

Because this was a 24 hour kind of mid-week trip, I wanted to keep things super simple and easy with packing, and, particularly food.

That’s where these Blueberry SunButter Breakfast Cookies come in.

These Blueberry SunButter Breakfast Cookies are made with oatmeal, SunButter, and blueberries.

Bake them in advance and grab a few for an easy breakfast, no matter where you are!

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Viral Tiramisu Chia Pudding

By Flora & Vino 2 Comments

Viral Tiramisu Chia Pudding made with Organic Chia Seeds and espresso topped with cacao. Perfect to meal prep for breakfast or a snack!

This year, we got our hands on our first espresso maker.

We purchased it second hand so there was no pressing urgency to use it religiously.

While I have used it bagel (0!) times, M has already gotten our money’s worth and then some with all of the espresso he has experimented with.

The addition of the espresso maker inspired a kitchen reorg with the creation of “coffee corner”.

We now have a whole corner of our precious counter space dedicated to coffee related things, including but not limited to:

Our coffee grinder, bags of beans, the coffee scale, the new espresso maker, and all of it’s accoutrements.

With the new workspace, he’s tried pretty much every bean from our favorite local roaster to dial in the best ‘spresso.

So, naturally, he was delighted when I requested that he make me espresso shots for today’s recipe.

Tiramisu has been a long time favorite dessert of mine, but one that I’ve yet to make vegan.

So I’m excited to share my version of the Viral Tiramisu Chia Pudding.

This chia pudding incorporates all of the layers and flavors of tiramisu, without all of the hard work.

It’s Tiramisu in pudding form!

My version of the Viral Tiramisu Chia Pudding is made with Organic Chia Seeds and espresso topped with cacao.

It’s perfect to meal prep for an energizing breakfast or a snack!

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Vegan Blueberry Muffins

By Flora & Vino 4 Comments

Vegan Blueberry Muffins made with almond flour, oat flour, and frozen blueberries. Perfect for a nutritious breakfast or snack.

I have a working oven; I repeat, I have a working oven!!!

It’s been *over* two weeks since the oven lit up light a firecracker and died while I was baking a sheet pan meal at 450 degrees.

Since then, we’ve been waiting patiently for a new oven part to arrive and be installed.

In the meantime, I’ve been working on portable induction cooktop.

This is actually my first experience with induction cooking, friends.

While I loved how quickly the pans heated up for a stir-fry, I found it to be lacking when you need to boil a *lot* of water, like pasta.

We survived mostly on oatmeal, homemade fried rice, and air-fried sweet potatoes for the past few weeks.

Which isn’t the worst menu to live on, right?

That being said, I’m super grateful and excited to have a functioning oven again.

Sure, ovens are great for cooking and I rely on it frequently to roast veggies and chickpeas.

However, the one thing I couldn’t stop craving while we were oven-less was baking MUFFINS.

Homemade muffins warm from the oven, bursting with blueberries.

Naturally, today’s recipe is a celebration of that craving.

Friends, I give you, Vegan Blueberry Muffins.

These Vegan Blueberry Muffins are made with almond flour, oat flour, and frozen blueberries.

They’re perfect for a nutritious breakfast or snack!

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Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chips Muffins

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins made with oats, almond flour, and lots of vegan chocolate chips. Perfect for meal prep!

Last week we spent almost a whole day without running water at F&V HQ.

It was basically camping without the appeal like the nature, campfire, and s’mores.

Apparently a *very* large water pipe burst in our area, leaving us and many neighbors without running water during it’s longer than normal repair.

I definitely panic-purchased water from the store by the gallon, unsure of how long we’d need to get by with empty pipes.

If you’ve never been without running water, it might not seem like that big of a deal.

You might be thinking, “Just go buy some bottled water and you’re good, sis!”

I wish it were that simple.

Sure, with bottled water you can get by with minimal hand washing and hydration, but not much more.

But toilets require a lot of water to flush (1.6 gallons to be exact, I Googled it!), and if you’re without water for many many hours…well, you get the idea.

So the simple act of human-ing felt like a chore on Wednesday of last week, to the point that I almost went to my local gym just to take a shower.

I cancelled my shoot and any recipe creation or food prep for the day, because without running water none of that is possible either.

Gloriously, the water came on around 8 PM and I took the longest hottest shower I could stand and emerged a new woman.

Seriously, though, the whole ordeal was a reminder how precious a resource water is, and the immense privilege in having constant access to it.

So, the recipe I’m sharing with you today does not require any water, haha!

But it is one that I feel grateful to have in my life and made as soon as we had running water again.

These Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins are made with oats, almond flour, and lots of vegan chocolate chips.

They’re perfect for a meal prep snack for the week ahead!

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15 Best Bliss Balls

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

15 Best Bliss Balls made with simple plant-based ingredients so you aways have a bite-sized snack on hand. Mix and match for meal prep!

POV: What exactly is a “bliss ball” anyway, and why do I have so many on my website?!

I can’t take credit for the term “bliss ball”, but I think it was a popular way to describe bite sized snacks around the time I started to share recipes on the Internet.

Think energy balls, energy bites, protein balls, etc., etc.

There was also the era of the “fat ball” around 2018…IYKYK.

Over the years, I amassed quite a collection of my favorite bite-sized balls.

Seasonal varieties, lazy no blender balls (my favorite), and balls with hidden veg.

We’ve got grain-free balls, oat-y balls, and even nut-free balls.

Basically, there’s a bite for everyone and for everyone’s pantry.

So I thought it would be nice to share this collection of all of my spherical favorites in one place.

Especially now, in January, when healthy snacking is something I’m consciously working on.

Because a homemade ball eaten mindfully is most certainly more satisfying than mindlessly grabbing granola.

These 15 Best Bliss Balls are made with simple plant-based ingredients so you aways have a bite-sized snack on hand.

Let’s have a ball!

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1-Bowl Blondies

By Flora & Vino 3 Comments

1-Bowl Blondies with oat and almond flour sweetened with pure maple syrup. Top with Endangered Species 60% Dark Chocolate Baking Chips!

Thanksgiving came and went and now the world is hustling and bustling in a holiday craze.

I actually finished my holiday shopping early this year because I was overeager to buy gifts in October and November.

This feels like a major flex now, because I have more time for writing my Christmas cards and…baking.

Friends, ’tis the season for baking.

Baking all things, but mostly sweet things.

I’m excited to share my first December baked good with you.

I had my oven on every day last week working on different variations of blondies.

What I’m sharing with you today is my favorite; sweet, chewy, and chocolate studded goodness.

These 1-Bowl Blondies are made with oat and almond flour sweetened with pure maple syrup.

Top them with Endangered Species 60% Dark Chocolate Baking Chips and don’t forget to measure chocolate chips with your soul.

Make a pan of these vegan and gluten-free blondies for you and yours!

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Vegan Morning Glory Muffins

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Vegan Morning Glory Muffins made with shredded carrots, dried fruit, nuts, and Organic SunButter. Perfect for a quick breakfast or snack!

After daylight savings time told us to “fall back” (thanks, daylight savings!) I’ve been trying to use that extra hour to get an hour ahead…on life.

It feels like a cheat, doesn’t it?

Without missing a wink of sleep, I’m suddenly back to being a 6 AM-riser, something I haven’t been able to accomplish before we brought Flora home.

The past few months, I fell into an easy routine as a new dog mom of sleeping as long as Flora would let me, only getting up to her insistent barks at my side of the bed.

But this week, I’m back, baby.

I’m back to my early morning Pilates + strength workouts before breakfast.

Back to eating a protein-packed breakfast after said workout ends.

I’m also back to starting my entrepreneurial workday at a time I wouldn’t be embarrassed to share with you.

It’s funny how a singular hour can make that much of a difference in the day, isn’t it?

This hour gave me confidence, focus, and self back.

So, now the hard part…I need to hold onto that hour for dear life and not slip back into old patterns.

M and I just started rewatching the series “House”, and I know it would be all too easy to binge a few episodes and lose traction.

OR stay up all night reading this month’s bookclub book, a historical mystery that I cannot put down!

I also feel great because I’ve been enjoying these Vegan Morning Glory Muffins as a nutritious midmorning snack.

These Vegan Morning Glory Muffins are made with shredded carrots, dried fruit, nuts, and Organic SunButter.

They’re perfect for a quick breakfast or snack and would be lovely to bake for family for the upcoming holidays!

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SunButter Date Caramel Apples

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

SunButter Date Caramel Apples made with apples topped with homemade caramel and rolled in sunflower seeds and dark chocolate chips.

In the past week, Flora took her first 1-mile walk with us!

The walk, which should normally take about 20-ish minutes, ended up taking over 30 because of lots of…

“Leave it, Flora!”, zig-zagging, “Drop it, Flora!”, dragging, “Heel, Flora!”, pulling…you get the idea.

Long story short: we’re still working on leash walking, and it’s a PROCESS.

She immediately came home and proceeded to lap water ferociously, lay down dramatically, and then initiated more play 10 minutes later.

Well, I guess we can’t tire her out.

With all this dog walking and dog training, I’m relying on healthy snacks to get me through this fall.

I’ve always been a sweet snacker, and this SunButter Date Caramel Apples hits just right for the season.

This good-for-you snack is made with your favorite apples topped with homemade caramel and rolled in sunflower seeds and dark chocolate chips.

It’s the best fall snack and a great way to use up all of those apples we collect this time of year!

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Cake

By Flora & Vino 2 Comments

Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Cake made with rice cakes, creamy peanut butter, and melted cacao wafers. A healthy peanut butter cup snack!

If you’ve been around here a while, you also know that I’ve been dressing up rice cakes for years.

While some people see dry, boring, bland cakes, I see a neutral and nutritious vehicle for *all* of my favorite toppings.

I mean, the possibilities are endless, friends.

Which is probably why I was immediately taken with the viral TikTok Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Rice Cake.

(Well, that and the fact that my favorite dessert pairing in the history of dessert pairings is chocolate + peanut butter.)

Rice Cakes are also an amazing vegan and gluten-free substitution for toast, crackers, or anything wheat based.

It took me a while to finally try the recipe trending on social media, but now that I finally have, I *need* to share it with you.

This is my version of the Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Cake.

They’re easy to make for a solo snack or dessert with your favorite rice cakes, creamy peanut butter, and melted cacao wafers.

Basically, it’s a healthier one serving peanut butter cup, and I think we could all use one of those as Halloween creeps up!

Grab some rice cakes, your favorite jar of nut butter, and Semisweet Cacao Wafers and let’s make this sweet treat.

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Healthy Snacking

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